Fabric



Feb. 20, 1934.

F. J. ZIMMERER FABRIC e, lsl

Filed Feb.

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Patented Feb. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE FABRIC icutApplication February 6, 1931. Serial N0. 513,903

6Claims.

This invention relates to fabrics and is concerned more particularlywith a novel fabric or tape having an enlarged portion extendinglengthwise thereof and forming an edge bead or a central rib', dependingupon its location. 'I'he new fabric may be used for numerous purposesand is particularly useful as a mounting for socalled hooklessfasteners. A form of the fabric suitable for that purpose wilaccordingly be described in detail for purposes of illustration, thoughit is to beunderstood that the utility of the invention is not limitedto that particular use.

Hookless fasteners consists of a plurality of cooperating fastenerelements arranged in rows on a pair of tapes which are secured to anobject along opposite sides of an opening therein. Mounted on thesetapes is a slider which may be moved along the tapes to spread apartadjacent elements in the rows so that the elements of one row may beinterengaged with or released from those of the other row. The fastenerelements are of metal and each one has a pair of legs which straddle oneedge of the tape, the tape being provided with an edge bead which isgripped by the elements.. During engagement and release of the elementsby movement of the slider, each tape is bent transversely in its plane,and may also be bent along a longitudinal axis, depending on how it isattached to the object. In any event, the tapes are subjected tofrequent flexing during use and wear due to the movement of the sliderwhich has portions contacting with the tapes.

In the tape 'constructions heretofore employed for the purpose, it hasbeen common practice to provide the tape with the edge bead by weaving asolid cord in the tape along one edge thereof. This arrangement is opento serious objection because if the cord is soft, there is a likelihoodof its creeping during the securing of the metal fasteners tothe tape,while if the cord is sufficiently hard to resist this creeping tendency,it is likely to break or crack when sharply bent during the movement ofthe slider.

The present invention is accordingly directed to the provision of afabric or tape which may be used for the purpose described and for otherpurposes and which is provided with a bead of no'vel construction and soformed that it is sufficiently 50 hard to permit proper placing of themetal fastener elements, and at the same time flexible so that it doesnot crack or break when the fabric is bent.

In one form of the new fabric, there is a portion 55 of ordinary weavewhich may be provided along one edge with a riding cord which serves totake the wear of the slider. 'Ihe riding cord may be connected ifdesired to the portion of ordinary weave by a flexible connectionproduced during the weaving operation. Along the free edge of the ridingcordV is formed a bag or tube, the fabric being of two-ply weave and thebag being formed in the ordinary manner. 'I'his bag, however, is

not filledl with a solid cord as in the prior practice but issub-divided by binder elements which in the form illustrated arearranged in two groups. Each group of elements is made up of a pair ofwarp ends which pass loosely from front to back of the fabricalternately at intervals of several picks, the elements thus providingjoints or hinges at the points where they pass from front to back of thebag or vice versa. The bag also contains gutting cord occupying' thespaces in the bag on either side of'the binders and the combination ofthe gutting and the loose binder elements, crossed in the mannerdescribed, provides an edge bead for the fabric which has suilicientstiffness and body for proper attachment of the fastening elements andat the same time is exible at the joints, so that the bead can be bentas desired without danger of breakage.

The flexible hinge connection between the main body of the tape and thebag permits the tape to be bent freely along a longitudinal axis andthis hinge is particularly useful when the tapes are secured to partswhich lie parallel to each other, as, for example, the two sides of atobacco pouch.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to theaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a diagram illustrating theactual weave of the fabric;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the fabric illustrating the mountingof fastener elements thereon;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the fabric with the fastenerelements in place;

Fig. 4 is a legend explanatory of Fig. 1;

Figs. 5 and 6 are transverse sectional views through the fabric on thelines 5-5 and 6-6 respectively of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1.

In the diagram, Fig. 1, the weaving of the fabric is illustrated in theconventional fashion, each square in the diagram representing thecrossing of a warp and a filling thread. Where a square is shaded, thewarpthread has been lifted over the lling, while the blank squaresrepresent points where the warp thread passes beneath the filling. Inorder to clarify the illustration, face -picks and back picks are shownside by side, although in the actual fabric the back picks lie directlybeneath the face picks. Also, certain sections of the fabric have beenshown side by side although in the cloth, these sections aresuperimposed. The actual positions of these sections will be explainedlater. In order that the diagram may be properly interpreted, I haveidentified the back and face picks at the left and have provided alegend in which the different shadings used for the different threadsare identified.

The fabric is illustrated a's including a main portion designated FlatSection, a riding cord along one edge thereof, and a bag along the fr eeedge of the riding cord, but it is to be understood that the riding cordmay be omitted if desired. The fabric shown is of t'wo-ply weave in theflat section and bag, while the riding cord is singleply, but with thewarp threads therein passing alternately over and under pairs of faceand back picks so that the riding cord is in effect a single fabric. Thefiat section may also be a single fabric if desired, although adouble-ply flat section is preferred. The riding cord is somewhat harderthan the fiat section and the bag and it forms a wear strip extendinglengthwise of the tape from one end to the other. Where the yarnemployed in weaving the new fabric is of good quality, the riding cordmay be omitted. If desired, fiexibility lengthwise of the tape may beprovided by inserting a wire in the loom to be woven into the flatsection, for example, at the point K. This wire remains in place in thefabric temporarily and it spreads the warp ends apart so that the fabricis somewhat of a looser weave along a line in alignment with the wire.

Referring now to the flat section designated I-J, it will be seen thatthis section is of standard two-ply weave, the plies being stitchedtogether at every fifth thread by binder threads, one of which isdesignated 10. The binder threads -pass over every face pick and'underevery back over each back pick and alternately over and Anated 12, passunder each face pick and alternately over and under the back picks. 'Iheface and back picks are shown side by side for purposes of illustrationbut in the actual fabric, the face picks lie directly above the backpicks.

The section H--I is the riding cord and here each warp end, one of whichis designated 13, passes alternately over and under pairs of adjacentback and face picks.

The section A-H constitutes the bag. Cn the drawing, the bag is dividedinto sections A-B, B-D, D-E, E--F, and F-H. 'I'hese sections are shownlying side by side, but in the actual fabric, the section B-D lieswithin the bag and thus beneath the face threads and over the backthreads in section A-B. Also section E-F, shown as at the side ofsection F-I-I, lies within that part of the bag and beneath the facethreads and over the back threads of section F-H.

In sections A-B and F-H, the face warp ends. one of which is designated14, pass over each back pick and alternately over and under each facepick. Similarly, the back warp ends, one of which is designated I5, passunder each face pick and alternately' over and under each back pick.

There are no binder threads in the bag section similar to the threads 10in the flat section and consequently, the two plies of the fabric, eachcomplete in itself, lie separated, thus defining the bag.

The section E-F illustrates gutting strands in that portion of the bagdefined by the section F-H and in the weave illustrated, there are sixgutting' strands within the section F-H. Eacli gutting cord 16 lies freeof the two plies so that 3 it is illustrated in the diagram as passingover each back pick and under each face pick. This portion of thediagram indicates that the gutting strands lie free in the bag sectionF--H and are not interwoven with the plies of the fabric at either sideof the bag.

The section D-E of the fabric includes the binder elements. There aretwo groups of such elements and each group in the weave shown is made upof six ends 17. These binder elements pass alternately from front toback of the two plies constituting the bag and have a long takeup as,for example, the binder threads in 6" of fabric may measure 8%" inlength. Tracing the course of one element 17, it will be seen that theelement passes over a group of three pairs of face and back picks andthen under a similar group of three pairs of face and back picks. Thebinders in the other group, one of which is designated 18, areinterlaced in the same way, the two binder elements alternating incoming to opposite surfaces of the fabric. Each binder element groupcomprises a plurality of strands and in the construction illustratedthere are six strands in each group of elements. In that form of thefabric illustrated the groups of binder elements sub-divide the baglengthwise and since each group of these elements contains aconsiderable number of strands, the elements give body to the fabric,and since they have a long take-up and pass alternately from front toback of the fabric, flexibility is afforded at the points where theycross, such as that designated 19.

In the bag or tube section A-B, there is gutting represented by sectionB--D. In the fabric shown, the gutting contains two strands only and itlies loose in the back section.

The cloth diagram illustrates merely one example of a fabric whichembodies my invention and it is to be understood, for example, that thefiat section need not be a two-ply fabric of the weave shown, and theriding cord may be dispensed with if desired. In any fabric embodying myinvention, the bag, instead of being filled with a gutting cord as inprior constructions, is sub-divided by binder elements and when theseelements are arranged in groups each group is made up of a sufficientnumber of strands so that it and such gutting as may be employed in thesub-divisions of the bag provide the fabric with the desired rib or edgebead. The size and stiffness of this bead is sufficient to permit theattachment of fastener elements thereto but since the binder elementsare interlaced with a long take-up and they cross at intervals, thefabric is very flexible by reason of the joints or hinges which areprovided at the points of crossing of the elements. The new fabric hasaccordingly been found to be highly satisfactory when employed as a tapefor hookless fastener elements, since the bead or edge cord hassufficient rigidity to permit proper application of the elements andIyet is sufficiently exible so that it will not break when sharply bent.

In Fig. 2, I have conventionally illustrated the tape with the fastenerelements attached thereto. The yflat section is shown at 20, the ridingcord at 21 and the bead at 22. Each fastener element 23 .has legs 24which straddle the bead and are crimped inwardly so as to hold theelements irmly in position. A portion of a. completed tape is shown inplan View in Fig. 3.

In manipulating a fastener of this type, a slider element notillustrated is moved along the tapes and causes each tape to be benttransversely in its plane. This forces apart the free ends of theelements in each row, so that the elements of one row can beinterengaged with or released from the elements of the other row. Theflexing of the tape produced by the action of the slider has no harmfuleffect on the new tape because of the flexibility imparted to the beadby the binder elements woven therein in the manner described. Also, insome fasteners used, for example, in tobacco pouches or purses, the natsections of the two tapes lie in parallel planes and, when the elementsare interengaged, each tape is bent along a longitudinal axis. Thepresence of the hinge in the new fabric provides a flexible connectionwhich permits easy bending of the tape for the purpose described.

While I have described the new fabric as having an enlarged bead or ribalong one edge, it will be apparent that the bag may be formed at anypoint in the fabric, thus providing a lengthwise rib at either edge orat some central point between the edges. In the diagram, the binderelements are illustrated as being arranged in groups of six strands butit will be apparent that other arrangements may be used as desired. Ihave found the use of groups of six strands satisfactory for fastenertapes, but contemplate that for this and other purposes, fewer or morestrands may also be employed to advantage and that other groupings orarrangements may also be used. Also, the fabric illustrated includes apair of binder elements, and the rib is relatively narrow. For somepurposes, it may be desirable to provide a wider bead or rib, in whichevent the fabric will be woven with a wider bag and additional binderelements used.

I claim:

1. A fabric comprising a flat section, a bag extending lengthwise of thefabric, and a plurality of binder elements sub-dividing the baglengthwise, each binder element comprising a plurality of Warp threadsand said elements lying side by side .without intervening warp threads,the

greater part of each element lying outside said bag with the elementpassing through the bag at intervals of a plurality of picks and exposedalternately on opposite faces of the fabric.

2. A fabric comprising a flat section, a bag extending lengthwise of thefabric, a plurality of binder elements sub-dividing the bag lengthwise,each binder element comprising a plurality of warp threads and saidelements lying side by side without intervening warp threads, thegreater part of each element lying outside the bag with said elementspassing through the bag at intervals to be exposed alternately atopposite faces of the fabric, and gutting within the bag.

3. A fabric comprising a flat section, a bag extending lengthwise of thefabric, and a pair of binder elements sub-dividing the bag lengthwise,each element being made up of a plurality of warp threads and saidelements lying side by side without intervening warp threads, thegreater part of the length of each element lying outside the bag withboth elements passing successively through the bag to be exposedalternately and in staggered relation on opposite faces of the fabric.

4. A fabric comprising a flat section, a riding portion along one edgeof the flat section and of tighter weave than the flat section, a bagconnected to the flat section by the riding portion, and binder elementssub-dividing the bag lengthwise, each element comprising warp threadsand @05 said elements lying side by side without intervening warpthreads, each element lying outside the bag except for passingtherethrough at intervals to be exposed alternately on opposite faces ofthe fabric.

5. A fabric comprising an integral at section, a bag, and groups of warpthreads lying side by side without other warp threads interveningbetween the groups, said groups sub-dividing the bag and lying outsideit except that each group passes through the bag at intervals to beexposed alternately on opposite faces thereof.

6. A fabric comprising a at section, a bag connected thereto, binderelements sub-dividing the bag into lengthwise sections, each element 120comprising a plurality of threads lying outside the bag except forpassing through it at intervals to be exposed on opposite faces thereof,and gutting in the said sections of the bag, the elel ments having agreater bulk than the gutting 125 and said elements lying side by sidewithout intervening warp threads.

FREDERICK J. ZIMMERER.

